Justice in the Wrong Hands
by E. Limberg
Summary: Three men take Stella hostage and use her to get Mac. What do they want with the two detective? When one of the men tries to help them escape, is he just setting a trap for them? Eventually Mac and Stella.
1. Taken Prisoner

**Justice in the Wrong Hands**

**Chapter 1: Taken Prisoner**

Mac enters his apartment, setting his keys down on the kitchen counter before opening the refrigerator to look for dinner of some kind. As his eyes search the contents of numerous containers, he hears soft footsteps in the other room.

He pulls his gun out of the holster still on his belt and creeps to the entrance of the living room. Slowly he reaches out and flips on the light switch.

Three men with ski masks on stand there, all with weapons. One of them holds his gun to Stella's temple while the other two point theirs at him.

"Let go of her," he orders, not able to look into her frightened green eyes.

"Put your weapon down, or I'll shoot her." The click of the safety being turned off reverberates throughout the room.

"Let her go. Take me instead. If you leave her unharmed, I'll make sure you get whatever it is you want from us," Mac attempts to bargain.

"I said put the gun down or her brains will be splattered all over this room," the man holding her repeats.

He sets his gun on the floor slowly after seeing her eyes widen. "I'm sorry, Stella."

The other two men approach him, lowering their gun slowly and pulling out rope to bind him with. "Keep your hands up."

He doesn't move. "Take the gun away from her, point it anywhere but at her, and I'll go without a fight."

The men look at each other. "Okay, but if you don't cooperate, she'll take a bullet." The muzzle of the gun now points his direction.

Mac puts his arms in the air and lets them bind his hands together. He watches Stella struggling a bit with her captor.

When she can't get free, she turns to him. "You're just going to let them have both of us?"

"I can't do anything, or they'll kill you."

"They want something, and they need us to get it. They're not going to kill one of us, at least not until they get what they want."

"I can't, Stel," he whispers. "They might not kill you, but they could hurt you. I can't let you get hurt."

A hand clamps over her mouth. "Shut up and let your boyfriend make his own decisions."

"We're not dating," she says, words distorted by the hand.

The other two finish tying him up and pat him down for other weapons. "Are we ready?"

The leader, the one holding onto Stella, nods and pushes her towards Mac and the other two. "If I hear a word from either of you while we leave, the lady gets a bullet in her stomach. Got it?"

Mac and Stella both nod, letting the men lead them to the door. They are escorted down the emergency stairs and out into an alley. One of the men opens the trunk to an old black van while the others get the hostages inside. Then they climb in the front and start the engine, jerking forward and sending the couple flying.

Mac, squished between Stella and the back door, dares to whisper to her. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No. Hit my head against the wall trying to get away, but it'll be okay. You?"

"I'll be sore later."

They sit in silence for a moment, then she asks, "Any ideas?"

"Nope."

**A/N: Hm... don't remember much about this story. I wrote like forever ago it seems like. I should post again Saturday or Sunday. The story is twelve chapters long. So... I liked last night's episode, but I think last year's finale was better. I read that Mac does end up hurt... but they find him and he refuses to go to the hospital, even for Stella. And they're supposed to play a baseball game or something against the fire department and Stella flirts with one of the firemen. Maybe Mac will get jealous and make his move on her. I think Stella's a bit jealous of Jordan and Jordan's jealous of Stella 'cause she spends so much time with Mac, who is supposed to be her boyfriend. I don't like her, especially since she yelled at Mac for doing his job and Stella for not telling her what was Mac's news to tell. Quinn... she's alright, but she and Mac definitely shouldn't start dating. I can't wait for September. Although I really want school to be out and if it were September I'd be back in school. Today was the senior's last day. They saran wrapped the table together in one cafeteria and sprayed shaving cream all over in the other. And threw waterballoons at the poor people like me that have to ride the bus. They were supposed to have more in the afternoon but they didn't. Maybe they got in trouble. The principle said that if they caused trouble they wouldn't graduate. Of course all the seniors were outside in the parking lot when she said this so... and they apparently let mice loose in the school. I didn't see any... And there was a bird in the band room... could be them or maybe it just flew in if the doors were open. Okay, I've got to go. Please tell me what you think so far.**


	2. Free Already

**Chapter 2: Free Already?**

"How'd they get you?" Mac voices his curiosity.

"I got home and decided to go right to bed since I was tired; I couldn't sleep last night for whatever reason. As I was getting pajamas out of the dresser, I saw something behind me move. He was right there when I looked in the mirror. We struggled a little before the other guy came out of my closet. He had a gun so I had no choice but to follow his orders," Stella recounts the earlier event.

"Where was the third one?"

"In the truck."

"So they tied you up and took you to my place?"

"Yeah, they took the key from me and broke in. The one said they'd shoot you if I tried in any way to tell you of our presence."

"And they used you to get me without a fight."

She falls against him as the van turns. "Why didn't you fight? You could have taken them all down."

"He had his gun to your head. I couldn't give him a reason to pull the trigger."

"I should have warned you that they were in your apartment."

"It's not your fault," he says softly, wishing he could comfort her more. "We'll get out of this."

"How?"

"We'll come up with an escape plan. And sooner or later the rest of the team will be looking for us."

She sighs, "That could be days."

"Put your back to mine," he orders. A few minutes later her wrists are free. "Here, get mine."

Once he is free, she asks, "Now what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure how to over take them. Maybe wait until the van is stopped and surprise them when they open the door to get us."

"Do you have your phone?"

"No, it's on the counter with my keys."

As the van continues forward, they sit in silence, contemplating their situation. Stella interrupts his thoughts, "What do you think they want from us?"

He shakes his head, "I haven't the slightest clue."

The van screeches to a halt, sending them forward, before taking off again. "Is it just me or do criminals seem like exceptionally bad drivers?"

Mac gives her a small smile, "It's because they're under a lot of stress. They just broke the law and are paranoid about being caught."

"What do you think they plan to do to us?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions, Stel."

"Hey, why don't you be useful and check on our hostages?" they hear the leader tell one of the other men.

Quickly they put their hands behind their back. A bright light blinds them as the man looks into the back of the van. "They're still there."

"The door's locked; they can't leave. Besides, I think Taylor is smart enough to know not to jump out of the back of a moving van."

She looks at her partner. "I guess they know us."

The drive continues for another twenty minutes, the couple mostly silent the rest of the journey. Mac turns to her when the van comes to a halt. "I can handle two of them; you just keep the third busy and don't get hurt."

"I'm not completely defenseless, Mac," she whispers.

"I know that. But I was a Marine; I've had more experience in this."

"Whatever," she rolls her eyes. "Good luck." Her lips touch his cheek before she gets into position.

The doors of the truck open.

**A/N: Since there's ten more chapters left of the story, you can probably guess how their plan works out. I'm so excited: four more days left of school. Then finals. But I only have to take two: Spanish and band. If you pass the graduation test, you don't have to take finals. So you really only should have to take them junior year. Which of course has to be a hard year for me. But we're really not doing anything. Spanish is review now, history we're discussing current events, math we're almost done then we review for the juniors, English we have presentations (I was one of the ones who had to go on the first day and get it over with), and chemistry, well we're still learning in that class. But we haven't had homework for like a week. And normally we get two or three worksheets and/or book problems to do each night. So I have nothing to do in the evenings now. Ooh, I finished the new NY book. It was pretty good. But now I've got absolutely nothing to do in study hall. So I decided to start a new story about spoilers from the first episode of season five. Of course they have to find Mac. So I should go now. I'll update Thursday or Friday. Thanks to those of you that reviewed. Keep them coming please.**


	3. Fears Revealed

**Chapter 3: Fears Revealed**

"What did you do to him?" Stella asks in astonishment, looking at Mac lying on the ground.

The leader holds up a taser gun. "He'll be okay in a bit; he's just unconscious."

"Mac?" she bends down and checks his neck for a pulse.

"Your boyfriend will be fine. Are you going to cooperate, or do I have to use it on you too?"

"Mac isn't my boyfriend."

"How do you explain this?" he points to Mac's cheek.

Frowning, she looks at the lipstick mark on his cheek. "He's just a friend."

One of the men grabs her from behind. "She won't get away this time."

"Take her inside. We'll get Taylor."

"What is it you want from us?" she tries to get information from him.

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Can't you give me a hint?"

"Revenge."

"For what?"

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself, Detective."

**Justice**

"Stel, is that you?" Mac blinks, trying to get his eyes to focus.

"You okay?"

"I think so. Where are we?"

"A basement in some house not too far outside the city."

"Do you know what happened to me?"

"Not really. I just saw you lying on the ground suddenly. It looked like they killed you. The guy said it was a taser gun."

"Were you hurt while I was unconscious?"

She shakes her head. "The one guy even told me they're out for revenge."

"Revenge? So they tied us to chairs and plan to starve or dehydrate us?"

Stella seems to be ignoring him, focusing on the wall opposite them. "Don't know," she mumbles.

"What's so interesting about that wall?" he too stares at it.

"There's a spider on it."

"That's it? I thought there was a secret door for us to escape with."

She finally looks at him. "I don't like spiders."

"I can't go over there and kill it for you. Maybe if you start screaming one of them will squish it for you," he smirks.

"Or they'll put it on me," she shivers and turns back to the wall. "Where'd it go?"

"On the ceiling."

She tries to scoot her chair towards his. "Get it away from me."

The door opens, and two of the men come down the stairs, each holding a tray. "What's all the yelling for?"

"Nothing," she replies quickly.

"There's no one outside in the middle of the night to hear your cries for help; save your strength."

"What's on the trays?" Mac asks.

"Dinner for you. We decided you're of more use alive than dead. You'll get two meals a day."

They look at each other. "What exactly do you need us for?"

"We can't tell you quite yet." The men set the trays down in front of them and untie their arms. "No funny business."

"Hold this for a minute," Mac puts the food from his tray on hers and stands.

"What are you doing?" one man reaches for his gun.

"My partner is deathly afraid of spiders. I'm going to kill the one up there," he squishes it with his tray.

Stella smiles, "Thanks. I appreciate it."

**A/N: One more day left of school. I can't wait. So we had our last chemistry test today. It was open notes and book. And the teacher gave us five minutes to discuss the test with anyone in the class. So everyone crowds around my desk to get help. Well, more like copy. I was trying to explain something to the one kid that's also pretty smart, but he must not have understood this chapter. The others kind of took my test and checked their answers. And changed quite of few of theirs. The kid asked whether I needed help with anything. I think he felt kind of bad for me. But I knew most of it. What he didn't know I couldn't really blame him. The way it was worded was kind of confusing. Nothing else really happened today. But my brother was watching some kid super hero movie yesterday and it happened to have that Superman Five for Fighting song in it. And my mom liked it. She said something about looking it up on the internet. So maybe if I find it, though I already know what it is, we can get it (legally) and I think the only reason she mentioned it was because I don't have any songs picked out for dance next year. So maybe... She also hinted at Indiana Jones for jazz. But that I don't know about. I've pretended to be boys that past two years as the Phantom of the Opera and pirates. But I don't think this song would be as bad. It's not as fast. I should probably shut up now. I'll update... Sunday maybe. After I go to graduation. I have to play in the band. Please continue reviewing. Thanks.**


	4. An Explanation

**Chapter 4: An Explanation**

The sound of feet stomping down the stairs wakes Stella up the next morning. All three men enter and close the door behind them. "Did you sleep well last night?" Neither of them answers. "I hope you did because you've got a long day."

"What do you want from us?" Mac asks again.

"I believe you worked a rape case six months ago. The girl was killed, and your team couldn't find the man."

He nods slowly, "Yes, I remember it. The file still sits on my desk."

"The girl was my sister. I want you to reopen the case and solve it. She didn't deserve to die, and her killer needs to be punished. Once it's solved, you'll both go free. And the longer it takes the more torture you go through."

"How are we supposed to do this when we're tied up in here?" Stella asks.

"You two won't be. Taylor, I want you to call your team and tell them to reopen the case. If you breathe a word about your whereabouts, I'll… put some tarantulas in here," he smirks.

Her eyes go wide. Mac doesn't flinch. "Give me a phone, and I'll call." The leader unties him and hands him one.

He dials Danny's number. "Danny, we need you to reopen the rape-murder case from six months ago. The file is still on my desk. I want everyone working on it, and no one leaves until it's solved."

"What's wrong? Where are you? And Stella is gone too," Danny asks.

"We're both safe for now. I have no idea where we are. Just work quickly and find the killer; Stella and I will be fine if you follow my orders."

The man takes the phone and ends the call. "That's enough. If it's not finished in three hours, someone will get hurt."

"Three hours? It takes a lot longer than that to run any evidence again for a lead," Stella argues.

"It should have been solved six months ago." The men leave the basement.

She looks towards her partner. "What's wrong? Other than the fact that it won't be solved in three hours?"

He looks at his hands. "They forgot to tie me back up."

"Untie me, and let's find a way out of here."

"They only way out is through that door. We won't get past them. Plus they probably have some other trap in case we somehow managed to get untied."

"So we're just going to sit and wait for them to hurt us when the team hasn't found the killer yet? That's not the Mac I know."

He looks at her, "Maybe I've changed." She refuses to look at him, making him feel guilty. He moves behind her and unties the ropes binding her to the chair.

Stella immediately goes to the door. "Locked," she grumbles in frustration.

"Move over there," he points to a corner. Confused, she listens to him, watching as he kicks the door with all his force. The lock gives way. They both stand still, listening for footsteps coming to see what happened. The house is silent. Mac motions for her to follow him, and they silently creep up the stairs.

At the top they pause again, but still hear nothing. The couple inches through the kitchen and living room, the front door now in sight. He counts down on his fingers, and just as he reaches one and they prepare to dash to the door, a figure steps between them and freedom, a white-hot knife in hand.

"Where do you think you're going?"

**A/N: So sorry I didn't update sooner. It kind of slipped my mind yesterday. I was busy cleaning out folders now that school is almost over. Just the Spanish final tomorrow morning. One hour and forty minutes in counting. Of course I'll still be at school. Not my school, my brothers'. I'm helping my fifth grade science teacher, who both my brothers also had, pack his abundance of stuff so it can go upstairs for next year. He's moving to sixth grade. My god I never knew someone could be so messy. And we might be helping his daughter, who I also had. She's moving to fifth grade. But she's a lot neater than he is so that won't take nearly as long. So I checked my grades yesterday to see if the chemistry teacher updated anything. She's a really slow grader. Well, my grade had dropped from like ninety-five to eighty-nine. So I looked to see why. Apparently I was missing the essay part from some test we took a month ago. And I was pretty sure I took that part and turned it in since the multiple choice part had a grade. I emailed her, and she said she had lots of no names. Can't really blame the people for forgetting to put their names when there isn't a line for it on the top of the paper. So she put a grade in there and said she thinks she found, but I'll go check before the spanish test tomorrow. Okay, I need to go. I guess I'll update Thursday. Unless I have lots of reviews when I check tomorrow. Thanks.**


	5. Caught in the Act

**Chapter 5: Caught in the Act**

"Where do you think you're going?" he repeats. They both remain silent. He lunges at Stella, attempting to burn her, but Mac pushes her to the ground, the knife briefly hitting his shoulder. "Get up."

He stands, helping his partner up. "Sorry."

"Take them back to the basement. I'll be down in a minutes with a surprise." The other two men lead them back downstairs. This time they pull out two pairs of handcuffs to tie them up with.

The leader enters moments after they are handcuffed, holding up a syringe and small bottle of liquid. He approaches Stella, filling up his syringe.

Mac watches intensely. "What are you doing to her?"

"Don't worry about your friend right now," he nods to the other two men who drag him out of the room.

Stella, distracted by his departure, pays no attention to the man with the syringe until she feels the needle entering her arm. She tries to wiggle free from his grasp, but he is too strong. The liquid enters her blood, immediately causing her to feel dizzy. "Good night, Detective."

**Justice**

Her eyes open slowly, everything blurry. She blinks until her eyes focus again. Looking around the room, she sees that Mac has returned. She also notices a clear container on her lap. Upon seeing its contents, she screams at the top of her lungs and stands, knocking the box off her lap.

The lid flies off as it hits the floor, and the large black spider slowly crawls out. Terrified, Stella climbs on top of her chair.

Mac stares at the wall as though in some kind of trance. The spider crawls past him without him noticing.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" she asks, concerned.

"Don't worry about me," he mutters.

"What's wrong, Mac?"

"They're going to hurt you if it isn't solved by tonight. I heard them talking."

"It'll be okay. They keep saying they're going to hurt us, but they haven't really yet." He doesn't respond. "Tell me what happened. Please, Mac."

He finally looks at her. "Nothing serious. They just… had the knife out again, and it was hot."

"Where?" she closes her eyes, not wanting to think of the pain.

"On my back."

"I should have listened to you. We were better off just staying in here."

"No, you were right. At least we tried."

They sit quietly for a moment. "Now what do we do?" she whispers.

"I honestly don't know."

"Mac?"

"Yeah, Stel?"

"You don't have to take every bullet or burn or whatever for me. But… thanks."

"It's complicated."

"Why not explain? It seems we have plenty of time."

"Stella… I can't see you get hurt. You mean too much to me."

**A/N: Aw... so I think we're finally getting to the MS part now. I didn't really keep up my end of the bargain. You guys sent lots of reviews but I didn't update yesterday. Well at least I didn't make you wait forever again. So... I just typed another story. Just one chapter. I wrote it a while ago 'cause I didn't remember any of it. I just wrote another one chapter thing from spoilers on how next season will start. And I've started two more stories... one about Mac and Stella going to an amusement park. I had to choose Cedar Point since I've at least been to it in the last year. The other has to do with Danny and Lindsay's wedding. They're using it to set up Mac and Stella. Although I don't think I've added to either one in the past few days. I read my CSI magazine. Now I have to get summer reading done so I don't have to worry about it like last year. We read Beowulf, Ivanhoe, and Eaters of the Dead or something like that. It took me forever just to get through the intro to Beowulf. I'm going to go now. CSI is on soon. And I have a recorded episode of NY to watch. I can't wait until next Tuesday... The first episode when she kisses Mac is on Spike. I still haven't seen that one. I think after the episode I've seen just about all of season one now. Then the others I watched when they aired. Okay, please continue reviewing. Saturday I should update again.**


	6. Closer than Friends

**Chapter 6: Closer than Friends**

"I appreciate all this, Mac. You're the best friend I've ever had."

"Don't, Stel. Please don't talk like that."

"Like what?"

"Like we'll never see each other again. I can't stand to listen to it."

She studies him for a moment. "What did they say they'd do to me? And I want the truth."

Mac sighs, "They said they'd do to you want happened to his sister if we don't have a name by tonight."

"Have faith in them. The team will have something by then."

"What if they have a name, but they can't contact us to tell us?" He contemplates losing her and how worthless his life would be.

With no way to comfort him, Stella lets her mind wander to keep him from thinking about loss. "Um… do you know where the spider went?"

He shakes his head, "If I see it, I'll step on it for you."

"Ew. Spider guts," she frowns in disgust. "It'll probably bite you or something."

"Then I'll just let it crawl on you."

Shivering, she replies, "Just get rid of it."

The door opens, one man coming in. "Sleeping Beauty has awakened. Did you like your present?"

She forces herself to smile. "It was lovely. I just happened to misplace it."

"We've got plenty more if -"

"One's enough."

"Suit yourself."

"What do you want?" Mac demands.

"Just came to check on you," he puts a hand on Stella's shoulder. "Lunch will be in two hours." He shuts the door behind him.

Suddenly Mac stands, picking up the container the tarantula was in behind his back. Skillfully he sets it down around the spider, trapping it. "All safe."

She looks at the caged monster. "It can't knock that off, can it?"

"Nope; he'll be in there until he runs out of oxygen."

"Good."

"Stella, if we didn't have spiders, the world would be taken over by insects."

"So? Spiders are creepy," she keeps glancing over at the cage to make sure the tarantula is trapped.

"Why?"

"They have way too many legs to be able to move right. And they have eight eyes. And some are poisonous."

"What about millipedes? They move fast and efficiently for their abundance of legs."

She scrunches her nose in disgust, "They're just freaky."

He shakes his head, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing bad I hope." They both smile before becoming silent.

"You mean a lot to me, Stel. I don't know what I'd do without you supporting me."

"Didn't we already discuss this?"

"There's something I need to tell you just in case both of us don't come out alive," he takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. "I love you, Stella."

She sits, letting his words sink in. "I don't know what to say."

"Do you mean that I just made a huge mistake and you don't know how to turn me down or you love me to and can't say it?" Mac holds his breath.

"I… do love you, Mac. I just can't believe that I'm finally telling you."

"The threat of death can make people do drastic things."

**A/N: To make up for the lack of me updating when I tell you I will, I'm going to post three more chapters by Friday. Then you might have to wait until next Monday. It's a very busy weekend. So... I don't know why I didn't update yesterday. I wrote a lot though. I'm almost done with my story about them going to an amusement park. I think it turned out pretty good. I couldn't really describe the rides too much but I have a solution for that. That'll probably be one of the next things I get typed since it has to be posted in the summer. Or I could wait until the winter so we all get some entertainment. I wish it were September already. I don't want to go back to school though. Just watch NY. Well I guess that's all I have to say. I really need to do my summer reading. But Beowulf isn't very exciting yet. Please continue reviewing and I'll update as soon as possible.**


	7. A Surprising Turn of Events

**Chapter 7: A Surprising Turn of Events**

"It's been twelve hours. Call your team and see if they have a name," the leader unhandcuffs Mac and gives him a cell phone.

"Danny, do you have anything?"

"Not yet. We're running all DNA samples through CODIS again and reexamining trace and fingerprints. Nothing new yet."

Mac sighs in frustration, "Keep working on it."

"Where are you guys?"

"I'm not sure."

"Are you hurt?"

"We're both fine at the moment. But they threatened to hurt Stella if it wasn't solved by tonight."

"Who is holding you guys hostage?"

Before he can answer, the phone is taken away. "You have nothing new to identify her killer?" Mac shakes his head, looking at the ground. "I guess one of you gets her for the night."

Stella tries to remain calm and keep her courage. "What are you going to do with me?"

The men ignore her question. "We'll flip a coin. Heads, Derek; tails, Bryan." The coin is tossed and caught. Slowly he lifts his hand to reveal the winner. "Tails."

The tall, thin yet muscular man approaches Stella, putting his cold hand on her cheek. "I feel sorry for you," he pulls her up by the arm.

"Wait," Mac yells, "Take me instead. Do whatever you want to me, and leave her unharmed."

"What man would trade her in for you?" He smiles at her and starts to push her to the door. "Say goodbye to your friend."

"Sorry, Stel," Mac says softly.

She remains silent as she is taken up to a bedroom. He sits her down on the bed and pulls out a key. The handcuffs are removed from her wrists. Much to his surprise, she doesn't try to escape.

They stare at each other until Stella breaks the silence. "Aren't you supposed to be… raping me or something?"

Bryan sits next to her. "That's what my boss wants me to do."

"Then why aren't you listening to his orders?"

"Raping you won't bring his sister back. Besides, what the boss doesn't know won't hurt him."

"So… what exactly do you plan to do with me?"

He pulls off his mask and gloves. "Well, I was actually thinking of… helping you… escape. Is it too late to get a deal and not go to jail?"

"You kidnapped two police officers; I don't think they'll make a deal."

"But I'm also going to set you free. Can't I at least get a reduced sentence?"

"I don't know. The DA decides. If you do help us, I might put in a good word."

He looks into her green eyes. "Okay. First, you'll need these," he hands her the keys to the handcuffs.

"Hold on. You're going to give me everything I need to escape right now. You have me locked in a room with you and were told to take advantage of me, and you're not going to do that?"

"It's tempting. I mean, you are… pretty and all."

She frowns in thought. "All you want in return is a lower sentence?"

"And maybe a kiss… from you, if it's not… too much."

Stella puts her hand to her head, thinking things over. Criminals had ways to trick you. And this seemed awfully suspicious: what guy wouldn't take advantage of the situation? "What's the catch?" she looks at him.

"There isn't one."

"Both Mac and I escape for a kiss and a deal with the DA?"

Bryan nods. "You want to shake on it?" he extends his hand to her.

Hesitating, she takes his hand. "Deal."

**A/N: As promised, the next chapter. Bet you never thought that would happen. Of course it most likely wouldn't happen in real life, unless it was Mac who kidnapped you. But I couldn't let Stella get hurt like that. So now you have to wait and see whether their plan for escape will work or not. I might post the next chapter tomorrow or maybe not until Thursday. I have another short story typed; this one's about what I hope, I guess it would be, will happen next season when they find Mac based off of spoilers I read. Then I've got one about taking risks that comes shortly after The Thing About Heroes... Mac's trying to convince Stella to take a chance and go out with him. At least I think it's that way. Then there's one about her father. Only five chapters, but still okay. And I've got like three other stories written that I haven't had time to type. And my brother's baseball game was cancelled so... no typing later. Anyway... I'll go now. Please continue reviewing with this sudden turn of events. Thanks.**


	8. Another Escape Plan

**Chapter 8: Another Escape Plan**

Bryan forces her into the room and locks the door behind her. Keeping in character, she refuses to look at Mac.

"Stella, are you okay? What did he do to you?" Mac worriedly asks.

She shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

"Did he really rape you?"

She looks at the door before turning to him. "What happened to you?"

"They kicked me around. I think my shoulder is dislocated, and my wrist is broken," he winces as he moves slightly. "It can't be as bad as what he did to you."

"Mac, he didn't touch me."

"You don't have to deny it. I knew they were going to all along."

"I wasn't raped."

"Then he forced you to give your consent so he wouldn't have a longer jail time. It's okay; we'll get them all for life."

She takes a deep breath, "I remained fully clothed the whole night. He's going to help us escape. Tomorrow they're going to watch the game at another friend's house. He gave me the keys to the handcuffs; we'll be free."

"Why didn't he rape you?"

"He knows that hurting us won't bring the girl back. We made a deal: you and I go free if I talk to the DA and get him a lower sentence. And he also wanted a… kiss."

"You kissed him?"

"I didn't make out with him."

Mac shakes his head. "Stella, he's a criminal. How do you know he's not setting us up?"

"I don't know," she admits. "But what guy wouldn't take advantage of a woman he has tied up, given the opportunity? Other than you?"

He sighs, "I guess you're right. We'll trust him for now."

"Good."

"But we still have another night. They could beat me up again and maybe the other guy will get you tonight. Most likely he will… he will take… hurt you."

Defeated, she looks down. "I guess we'll just have to take it."

"You can't be serious. I'm already in a lot of pain, but I can get through another beating if I have to. I'll recover in time. You… you won't be the same; he'll take a part of you away."

"It's not like I've never done it."

"Still… you can recover physically, but emotionally… it'll last. It might be worse than Frankie. And I'm sure it'll make you more… guarded."

"Then what do we do?"

Mac thinks for a few moments. "He gave you the keys to the handcuffs?"

"Yeah," she says slowly.

"Then why don't you take them off us?"

She gets the keys out of her pocket and frees herself minutes later before helping him. Wincing, he moves his arm around to determine the damage. "We can't risk it now, especially with your arm like this."

"We have to, Stel," he approaches the door. "I want you to stay behind me. Whatever happens, save yourself. You can come back for me with the guys later. Promise?"

"Mac, I'm not going to leave you here alone." He looks sternly at her until she concedes. "Fine. Just… stay out of trouble."

"I love you."

"I love you too," she touches his cheek softly.

On impulse, he leans in and kisses her.

**A/N: Poor Mac. He thought he was getting it easier than Stella. Well, they're not safe quite yet. I believe within the next chapter or two you should find that out. Then what happens after that. Definitely a hospital in their future. Nothing going on here much. I've spent about five hours driving over the past two days. I've got about thirty hours I think now. I'm trying to get my license before band camp starts in August. I haven't driven much at night though. And I've only had one lesson with the instructor. Six more hours to go. I can't wait until that's over. So... I saw the wedding episode where we find out Stella is an orphan. It just confused me more. She said she spent her life in an orphanage, but then the guy came last season asking about her foster sister and family. They really need to clear that up. I guess that's it for now. I'll probably put nine up tomorrow, then ten... maybe Monday or Tuesday. Or I could probably do it Saturday evening when my brother, dad, and grandpa are at the baseball game. But this weekend's kind of busy. Please continue sending me your thoughts.**


	9. Trusting the Criminal

**Chapter 9: Trusting the Criminal**

Stella kisses him back, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. He pulls back quickly, wincing with pain. "I'm sorry, Mac. I kind of forgot about your shoulder."

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about it."

"Maybe we should just wait. We're never going to make it anyway, especially since you are unable to fight."

"No. We have to get out, Stel," Mac insists.

She closes her eyes and leans against the wall next to the door. As they stare at each other, silently debating whether to go or not, they become aware of footsteps on the stairs.

Mac pushes her away, pressing himself against the wall. Derek enters, surprised to find them not in the chairs. Before he can react, Mac punches him in the face.

Stella grabs the handcuffs, locking his hands behind his back with one pair and using the other pair to bind him to a chair. "We need a gag."

Finding nothing in the room to use, Mac pulls a shoe off and hands her a dirty sock. She frowns in disgust but shoves it in their hostage's mouth anyway. "Two to go," Mac says, heading to the door.

She follows. "One to go. Bryan won't stop us."

"For all we know, he was setting us up for something. We'll see about it if we run into them."

They climb the stairs as quietly as they can. Neither man is in the kitchen so they head toward the living room entrance. Mac peers around the corner, finding both men in the room, the leader facing them. He turns back to her and whispers, "I'll distract them, and you get out of here."

"No," she says stubbornly. "I won't leave you."

"Stella, go," he hisses, mad at her for not keeping her promise, yet secretly glad she wouldn't leave.

"Make me," she says rather loudly. They both freeze as the talking in the other room stops and both men get up.

"You think you're going to get away this time?" the leader asks. They stand silently, looking for an escape. "Lock him up, and I'll deal with her." He reaches out to grab her.

Stella ducks and throws a punch at his stomach. "Run, Mac."

Bryan grabs Mac loosely as he heads to the door, whispering, "Get yourself out, and I'll save her.'

For show, Mac pretends to struggle with him. He pushes Bryan against the wall. "Give up now, or I'll kill you," he threatens, getting ready to throw another punch.

Stella gets free from her attacker, and he yells to Bryan, "Grab her. Let him go."

Mac runs to the door, thinking Stella is right behind him. He opens it and turns around to let her go first but she isn't there.

Bryan has his arm around her neck. His other hand holds a gun to her stomach. "It's over, Taylor. Run and she's dead."

"Save yourself, Mac. Get away from here," Stella pleads with him. "Don't worry about me."

He looks from Stella to Bryan, who gives him a slight nod, to the leader, who is slowly approaching him. With one last look at Stella, Mac takes off, going out the door and down the street.

**A/N: Gotta hurry since it's thundering. I can't believe Mac left her there. That wasn't nice. So will she be safe? My dog is hiding under the desk. I have to wake up early tomorrow morning because I'm taking the ACT. Not so fun. Then I get to go driving with the instructor. Even more fun. But when I get home we're having lasagna. I told my mom she was making it on my birthday for only the past six months. But we're having it the day before because the party has to be on my birthday. And my brothers don't eat lasagna and grandpa won't eat cheese so... and she said it wasn't a party food. So... at least I still get it. Now I really wish I hadn't told the lady I'd drive tomorrow. Too busy. Hopefully I have time in between the test and driving to shower because I don't think I will in the morning. I'll update maybe tomorrow evening or not until Monday. Or possibly Tuesday. But I'll post the last chapters in a row like I was doing whenever I get the chance. Thanks.**


	10. Changing Sides for Good

**Chapter 10: Changing Sides for Good**

Mac continues running for another block until he sees a woman. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor with NYPD. I need to use your cell phone." The lady looks at him like he's lost his mind. "It's an emergency. My partner and I were being held hostage. They could be killing her right now."

Still thinking he is insane, the lady gives him her cell phone, if only to shut him up.

Quickly he dials Danny's number. "Danny, I got away. They still have Stella, but one of them is locked up. They have a gun. She could be dead."

"Slow down, Mac. Where are you?"

He asks the woman for an address and tells it to Danny. "There's one guy that was trying to help us escape, but he could have just been setting us up."

"We'll be right there, Mac," Danny says.

They hear a gunshot, and Mac drops the phone, running back toward the house and Stella. He is relieved to find her running out the door in search of him. "What happened, Stel?"

She embraces him, "He went out the door after you, but didn't get out of the yard. He told Bryan to shoot me when he came back in. For a minute, I thought he was going to, but he turned the gun on the leader and shot him."

"Is he dead?"

"I think so but I wasn't going to check. We have to call the rest of the team and get you some help."

"I called Danny. They're on their way."

"Are they bringing paramedics?"

"I think so. I was kind of going on about… how they still had you in there, and they could kill you at any time."

"I'm fine," she assures, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Why don't you wait out here for them and I'll look inside?"

"Why? I'm sure he's dead by now."

"To make sure Bryan's still here. We made him a deal and considering he didn't shoot you and let us go, we should try to help him out. Running from the police won't help him," he sits her down on the step and turns to go in.

"Mac, what do you think they'll do about him killing… his boss? It wasn't self defense technically since he was after me, not him."

"He did it to help us out. He killed him to save you." Mac comes out five minutes later with Bryan.

Stella smiles at him, "I need to thank you for not shooting me. I wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't… hadn't turned the gun on your partner. Mac and I will definitely work with the DA to help you out."

"I killed him. They can put me in jail for that."

"You did it in my defense though."

Bryan sits quietly for a few moments. "Did you guys kill Derek?"

"No, he's tied up in the basement."

"How long do you think… they'll put me in jail?"

Mac and Stella look at each other. "We don't know. But to get this to work out, you have to cooperate and do whatever they ask. Tell them everything they want to know."

"DNA and fingerprints?"

"Most likely both."

They hear sirens approaching and soon the team is pulling up along with an ambulance. Flack pulls out his handcuffs. "Is he one of them?"

"Don't be too rough with him, Don. He helped us escape."

**A/N: So there is still going to be a hospital visit, but not as bad as you thought it would be. Two more chapters left: I'll post the rest by Thursday. So I spent the last half an hour trying to play the piccolo. Now my lip hurts. You know how on flutes there's like a raised spot where you blow in so the headjoint isn't totally flat? Well, I believe most piccolos are the same, at least all the ones I've seen. The one I got for my birthday doesn't have that raised spot, which I think is why I'm having some trouble playing it. My mom got a normal one off ebay, but then found out it was cheaply made and the repair store near us couldn't have done anything to it if it broke. So she sent it back. And got another one somewhere else, probably still off of ebay. When she got it, she had me try to use it; I couldn't get anything out at all. So I tried with just the headjoint and something came out. Now I'm doing better. I can play the whole B flat scale. But where the whole is pressed against my bottom lip and made it hurt a little. I'm hoping the girl who plays piccolo didn't get field commander because... I don't know if any other now senior can play it. And the girl in my grade who could quit so... and I think I may now be the only person that has one. Other than that, I got a whole bunch of shirts about chemistry and some other clothes for my birthday. The rest was money. Which my mom told everybody to give me because I think I'm going to try to get a laptop. And parents said they'd pay for the rest of it. Well, I should go now. Please keep reviewing and reading.**


	11. Safely Together

**Chapter 11: Safely Together**

As soon as Stella has been processed and questioned, Lindsay leads her to Mac's hospital room. The doctor is finishing the cast on his wrist as they enter. "I guess I was luckier than you," she smiles, having gotten a clean bill of health.

"They threatened to hurt you all the time, yet you get away unscratched," he shakes his head.

The doctor puts a sling on his arm to keep him from straining his shoulder. "Can you stay with anyone for a few weeks until you can take care of yourself?"

Mac looks at her and she nods. "Yeah."

The doctor turns to her, "The sling is to stay on all the time except in the shower. Don't let him use this arm to do anything." He turns back to Mac. "I suggest you lay off on chasing criminals for a while, Detective. And you and your girlfriend should keep your hands to yourselves for a couple weeks."

After he has left, she turns to her partner. "Are you done?"

"Yeah."

"Let's get out of here."

The guys are all standing outside the door. "Who's your girlfriend, Mac?" Danny asks.

He and Stella look at each other before he puts his good arm around her waist.

"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday. Something about the threat of death always makes you admit things you never thought you'd say."

**Justice**

Mac comes up behind Stella as she hangs up his shirts in her closet and wraps his arm around her. "Thanks for this, Stel. I appreciate it."

"You'd be doing the same thing if I were in your position."

"It's getting late. You've got to be exhausted. Go to sleep."

"But there's still a lot to do. I have to find myself a blanket and pillow and finish this and set my alarm clock and…"

Gently he guides her toward the bed, "That doesn't matter. Get some rest."

She turns to face him, "You're sleeping here. I'll take the couch."

"No, you won't."

"You're the injured one. The bed is better for you than the couch."

"I've already invaded enough; I can't take your bed away."

"Mac, I insist. You sleep here."

He sits on the edge of the bed, "Fine… on one condition."

"What?"

He pats beside him, "You sleep here next to me."

Stella gives in, "Okay. But you heard what the doctor said."

"Stel, you know I wouldn't try anything this soon."

She smiles, "Of course you wouldn't. Which side do you want?"

"I'll stay here so I can lay on my side and watch you."

She turns the lights off before crawling under the covers beside him. Timidly she curls up beside him, resting her head on his chest. "Good night, Mac."

He puts his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. "Night, Stel. I love you."

"Love you too," she whispers, falling asleep almost immediately.

**A/N: Yay, only one chapter left. It'll be up tomorrow or Thursday. I was practicing piccolo again. I think I'm getting better. The high notes are still hard to get. I play the low one about five times before I eventually get the high one out. And then it kind of hurts my ears. I printed out some of the free samples of sheet music I found and tried to play them. Not too bad. But then I wanted to try one on my flute and it felt all funny to hold such a long instrument and stuff. Band starts Thursday. Wonder what competition show will be this year. But we won't know until August probably. I need to do some more editing. I've got like three other stories typed, but now I can't remember which ones I've editted and need to be printed. I should go check my drawer but I'm not sure the latest ones made it in there yet. Too confusing. Now I don't really feel like doing anything. I need to finish Beowulf, but I apparently I'm not finding it very interesting. I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow.**


	12. Justice is Served

**Chapter 12: Justice is Served**

After giving her testimony, Stella takes a seat next to Mac as the defense gets its turn to persuade the jury. "I can't wait for this to be over," she whispers.

"You're safe now, Stel."

"I'm sick of explaining what happened."

"I thought he was pleading guilty. It's obvious he helped kidnap us."

"What else are they charging him with?"

Mac shrugs, "Assault maybe. Murder charge was dropped because he was saving us."

"That's why his lawyer told him to go not guilty – he saved us; well, at least me."

"Might have gotten his sentence lowered a little if he pled guilty."

They listen as Bryan tells the jury his side of the story. Everything matches up until the defense attorney asks if he touched Stella at all when he had her locked in the room with him and was supposed to rape her.

"I had to bring her into the room and take her out. But I never touched her in any inappropriate way. Except… well, I asked her if she could… give me a… kiss if I helped her and her friend escape safely. And she did. I swear I didn't force her to."

"Do you know why," the man continues, "Detective Bonasera neglected to mention this?"

"It meant nothing. She probably forgot about it. Or didn't think it was significant."

"And the day they tried to escape wasn't the date you two had planned it to take place?"

"No, it was supposed to be the next day. I had no idea they wouldn't follow the plan."

"The defense would like to call Detective Bonasera back to the stand."

Stella looks at Mac. "I had no idea they would do this." She slowly makes her way up front.

"You are still under oath," the judge reminds her.

"Detective, is my client telling the truth? Did he make any inappropriate moves?"

"No, he did not," she shakes her head, curls swinging. "I thought it was odd that he didn't… do anything given this opportunity."

"And did you kiss him when he suggested it?"

"Yes, it was meaningless. Just a thank you for all that he was doing to save us."

"How did you know he wasn't going to set up a trap?"

She pauses, "I was quick to believe him after he assured me he had no intentions of raping me. My partner wasn't so sure."

"Can you explain what happened during your escape after you got free and ran to the door?"

"Bryan grabbed me at his boss's orders, letting Mac go. I told him to run, and finally he did. The boss ran after him out the door, but stopped at the edge of the yard. He told Bryan to shoot me when he came in. I thought he was going to but he turned the gun on the leader and shot him. I ran outside to find Mac," she tells the jury.

"That is all."

The jury leaves, returning fifteen minutes later. Bryan is found guilty of kidnapping, sentence to be determined later.

**Justice**

Mac kisses her, "Just forget about it. We're both fine now."

"Fine?" she touches his still injured shoulder. "I don't think so."

"It'll only be another week or so and I'll be out of the sling."

"But you'll still have a cast," she smiles.

"Well, I'll be fine in a few weeks. Nothing lasting was done to us."

"Being terrorized by a gigantic spider isn't lasting?"

"No, it's just funny," he smirks, leaning in to kiss her again.

"Our relationship," she stops him, "isn't lasting?"

"I meant harmful. This is a good thing, in my opinion." Mac backs her against the wall, giving her a long, passionate kiss.

"Mac," she breaks away, giving him a warning.

"I know, Stel." They stand, enjoying each other's warmth and love, until his phone rings. He pulls it out, seeing Flack's number.

"You can't work. Why do they call you to crime scenes?"

He answers it, "I'm kind of busy, Don."

"What are you and Stella up to?"

"Nothing that you need to know."

"I'll be sure to let everyone know about it."

"You do, and I'll have your job. What do you want?"

"There's a scene. I'll call Danny; his girls aren't important."

"Lindsay might be offended."

Flack laughs, "She'll get over it. See you tomorrow, Mac."

He hangs up. Stella slides out from between him and the wall. "Just go, Mac."

"He's calling Danny." She sits down on the bed. "Stel, it's hard for both of us."

She shakes her head, "You weren't the one they wanted to rape. You weren't the one they held their guns up to, threatening you helplessly for what the other did wrong."

"But I saw my best friend and the woman I love go through that. And I wished it were me they were threatening to put a bullet in."

Tears trail down her cheeks. "It's an awful feeling to know that you could be taking your last breath."

He sits beside her, wiping away her tears. "I can't imagine how you must have felt. And every time it was because of me that they did that to you."

She wraps her arms around him tightly, forgetting he is injured. "I love you more than anything in the world."

"I love you too, Stel," he tries to hide his pain from her, knowing she didn't mean to hurt him.

When she finally lets go of him, she looks up at him. "Did we ever find the girl's killer?"

Mac shakes his head, "But that's what tomorrow's for. She does deserve justice, but kidnapping us wasn't the way to get it."

**A/N: I guess the case never really is solved. You can assume it was eventually closed if you want. I probably was just too lazy to come up with someone that killed her. Next story will probably be a one chapter thing that takes place after the last episode with Drew where Mac tells her to 'take a risk' I believe is what he told her to do before. Then I've got one about her father who is a suspect in a case; Stella doesn't want anything to do with him, but Mac forces her to meet him. I also have another one chapter thing about what I hope happens in the opener to next season based off spoilers I read. And when I went back and read the information, it's a little different than what I wrote because I couldn't remember the details. After that I need to get typing again: there's one where they go to an amusement park (someone's afraid of roller coasters), one about Stella having a boyfriend and Mac is jealous and convinced that he's using her (he's a defense lawyer), and I think that last one I have written (which was probably the first one done) is kind of long and about Stella getting shot and Mac admitting that he loves her and other stuff due to the shooting that I can't say or it'll give the whole story away. I hope you guys enjoyed the story and will continue to read stories I've written. Thanks for all the reviews.**


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